Of Mobsters and Misunderstandings
by Ella M. Nite
Summary: Of course Arthur Pendragon would be at the table where Merlin was stationed. Dressed as a 1940's mobster, Merlin knew he was never going to live this down for the rest of his High School years.


**Summary**: Of course Arthur Pendragon would be at the table where Merlin was stationed. Dressed as a 1940's mobster, Merlin knew he was never going to live this down for the rest of his High School years.  
**Warning**: Homophobia, High School Au  
**Authors Note**: It started because I was having writer's block writing the Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre my work is putting on, and it spiralled out of control into something else completely. I have no idea if Improv teams are big in schools outside of Canada, but here's what I based them off of. Unbeta'd little one-shot.

* * *

Merlin had been coerced into joining the improv team at his high school. Will had told him that if Merlin didn't that he would post the numerous embarrassing pictures of him throughout the hallways of the school. Merlin was almost 60% sure that Will would not do that, but just to be safe he had dragged himself to the try-outs.

Luckily he knew enough popular culture and didn't mind standing in the classic "bookshelf" pose that Merlin somehow found himself as a member of the team. Will said it was because Merlin was good at it. Merlin thinks it might have more to do with the fact that he was the only person to "audition" and without him the members of the old team would have been forced to disband due to not having enough people in the group.

Merlin liked to think it was a bit like breakfast club, but it happened after school twice a week. The team was a group of kids from different social circles, all outcasts, and was a bit like a tom cat - frayed, often pitied, but with a lot of fight still in it.

"Turn that frown upside down my amigo," Gwaine said, slinging an arm around Merlin's shoulder's. "It will be over before you know it."

"If we survive it," Merlin muttered, feeling the sinking sensation deepen the closer it got to show time.

For some reason Mr. Kilgarrah, their improv teacher, had thought it would be a good fundraiser to put on a murder mystery dinner for the athletics banquet. Despite the students trying, and failing, to explain that the last thing they wanted to do was perform and act in front of the jocks who often made their life hell.

"It is your destiny to perform," Mr. Kilgarrah had said, and Merlin wondered if he ever listened to himself, because half of what he said was insane. "You are given a chance, a shot, at greatness, and you must not pass such greatness."

When that was met with more protests, Mr. Kilgarrah had snapped.

"And you get free chicken!" He yelled. "Now, I said you are going and that's final."

So here they were. Merlin was in a 1940's mobster get up and he was about to go over to table eight and pretend to be a gangster who might or might not have murdered Sam Goodwin. He hoped table eight might be the jocks that Merlin liked, such as Lancelot who had been friends of Merlin and Will for years.

"Okay, show time," Gwen said, biting her lip nerviously as she tried to cover herself up. As the mob bosses mistress, the nerdy and quiet Gwen had shrugged off her overalls for a red sequined dress that clung in ways to curves Merlin was sure no one had known had existed. He noticed Will and Gwaine staring and elbowed them roughly.

"Right, let's go," Gwaine said, flicking his hair back and walking, confidently into the auditorium. Merlin hated how self-assured Gwaine was in moments like this. Taking a deep breath, he followed his team members into the lion's den.

He saw Will move over to table six, and saw Valiant whispering with one of his team mates, while making very obvious gestures over towards Will. Merlin knew, with sinking certainty, that if the night didn't end with some sort of fist fight it would be a miracle. He was so busy feeling sorry for Will, he almost didn't realise who was seated at table eight. There was Leon, an alright guy a couple grades ahead of Merlin, Elena, who Merlin quite liked, Elyan, who was in grade nine and Merlin only knew the name of because he had won wrestling at the national level, and Percival, who Merlin had never heard speak more then three words despite being in the same class since Kindergarten. It was a great table, except it had Arthur Pendragon, the jerk who had made his life's mission to make Merlin as miserable as possible. He briefly wondered if it was too late to just turn around and leave.

"Well, if it isn't Merlin," Arthur drawled, "nice strips on the suit, Merlin."

Merlin felt a blush erupt and a deep embarrassment tighten in the pit of his stomach. His suit, already a bit too big on him, and the ridiculous suspenders made him very self-conscience. But as Arthur chuckled, he felt something in him snap. Emrys the mobster wouldn't be embarrassed by someone as stupid as Arthur Pendragon. Drawing himself up, he lowered his voice as he leaned forward, right in Pendragon's face.

"You have a problem, Pendragon?" Merlin practically growled. "And it's Emrys."

Arthur chuckled slightly, but Merlin felt him stiffen under him as he didn't break eye contact until Arthur had to look away awkwardly.

"Whoa, Merlin, sorry Emrys," Elena laughed. "So, did you know Sam?"

Blinking back, Merlin tried to remember what had been on the little cue card he had been given. He stood straight and tried to keep the hard-edge, dangerous Emrys persona up as he gave them the clues he was supposed to give the table. Arthur didn't say much else, just kept shifting around in his seat and eyeing Merlin.

Ten minutes later it was time to switch tables.

"I'm going to murder him," Will whispered as they passed each other. "If Valiant doesn't shut up, it won't be a fake murder."

"Just a bit longer," Merlin reminded him, feeling Arthur's eyes trailing after him. He desperately hoped Arthur wouldn't be worse then he already was to him because of this. It was one thing to pick on him in class, toss paper balls at his ears, and keep asking him on "dates" now that the whole school knew he was gay thanks to Will's big mouth.

The next table was better. Lancelot was at the table and he gave Merlin a tiny thumbs up which made him feel much better about the whole situation. However, just as he was explaining that he had been on a bootleg run at the time Sam was killed, he noticed that Lance kept sending worried looks at table six. Glancing back he noticed Gwen in near tears at something Valiant was saying.

Feeling a righteous anger throb through his veins, Merlin left his table and stalked over to table seven. This time he didn't need to pretend to be Emrys to find the strength needed to stalk right up to Valiant.

"Is something wrong Madame Lestrade?" Merlin asked.

"Don't you mean Madame Boobs?" Valiant leered. "Nice rack, though I guess you wouldn't get it, right Mergay?"

If looks could kill, Merlin was sure that Valiant would be a pile of ashes right now. His ears were ringing and his cheeks hurt from clenched muscles.

"Come on Gwen," Merlin said, wrapping an arm around Gwen and turning to leave. He noticed a number of people from various tables has joined them. He saw Lancelot trying to reach them. It wouldn't be long before a teacher was here.

"Oh, that's right, you're practically a girl, right Merlin? You're probably just jealous that Gwen got to wear that sexy number instead of you. Who knew that those overalls were covering boobs like those," Valiant leered, it took every bit of Merlin's control not to turn around and punch him. Where were the teacher's?

"Come one loser! Or are you too gay to -"

The crack of a fist hitting something cut off Valiant's rant. Turning around he was faced with a red faced Arthur, being held back by Percival and Leon from hitting Valiant again.

"Mr. Pendragon! What is happening here?" Mr. Gaius materialized from the crowd. He took one look at Valiant's bloody nose and raised two eyebrows of disapproval at Arthur. "Arthur, to the office, now."

Watching Arthur's red face drain slightly as he started to follow Mr. Gaius out of the auditorium, Merlin wasn't sure what possessed him. Only that as Arthur passed, Merlin stepped forward.

"It was me," he said.

"What?" Arthur spluttered. "No it wasn't."

"Of course it was," Merlin said.

"Fine, both of you to my office," Mr. Gaius sighed, looking highly suspicious of the two of them.

As Merlin slouches low in the plastic school chair in Mr. Gaius' office, he looks anywhere but at Arthur, who is still staring. It is beyond awkward and Merlin wishes Mr. Gaius would come back and give them their punishment so that Merlin could just go home, mourn his stupid mouth for getting him in trouble, and blame Will for everything.

"Thanks for sticking up for Gwen," Merlin mutters finally, playing with his suspenders so that he wouldn't need to pay attention to Arthur.

"What?"

"What you did for Gwen. Valiant's a dick."

Arthur nods, distractedly, finally looking away from Merlin and frowning at the wall. He shouldn't have said something. The silence seems thicker now.

"Why did you say you punched Valiant?" Arthur asked.

Merlin shrugged, silently asking himself the same thing.

"I guess I just thought it wasn't right for you to get in trouble for standing up for Gwen like that. My way of saying thanks," Merlin said and even as the words leave his mind, Merlin grimaces at how freaking insane he sounds.

"Not just Gwen," Arthur mutters.

"What?"

"What he was saying to you ... that wasn't right," Arthur growled.

"Oh ... um, thanks?" Merlin says, feeling slightly confused. Arthur had always been such an ass to him, and suddenly he was punching Valiant because someone else was picking on him? It made no sense. "Why would you care?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Arthur chuckled, but it sounded so hollow and defeatist. Merlin furrowed his brow, trying to think what about any of this was obvious.

"It's okay," Arthur was saying. "I know you don't feel the same way. You made that exceedingly clear."

"I don't feel what? Arthur, what the hell are you talking about?" Merlin demanded.

"You aren't interested."

"In what?"

"Me. Us. You know, maybe dating," Arthur blushed deeply as he looked back at Merlin, whose brain seemed to have stopped functioning. Opening and closing his mouth he could think of nothing to say.

"You aren't gay," Merlin finally said.

"Um, yeah, you know I am," Arthur drawled, looking highly uncomfortable. "Why else would I ask you out?"

"But, I mean, you were serious?" Merlin asked. "But, you were horrible, you threw things at me!"

"Only notes! If you had just paid a bit of attention I wouldn't have had to throw them at you," Arthur said defensively.

"But what about all the 'nice jeans Mer-lin' and 'You handed in two extra pages to that essay - think you're so smart Mer-lin'?" Merlin asked, using a high and fake voice for all his Arthur quotes.

"What, can you not take a compliment, Mer-lin?" Arthur scoffed.

"That was a compliment? That was, what? Flirting?" Merlin asked, and as Arthur blushed deeper, Merlin stared at him with wide eyes. "That was you trying to flirt. You are horrible at flirting."

"Please, I am a master of seduction," Arthur scoffed.

"You are really, really bad at it. I thought you hated me!" Merlin yelled.

"I could never hate you," Arthur said, suddenly so serious as he looked at Merlin, that he felt his gut tighten in a giddy excitement. Merlin had never had anyone like him. Or at least, there had been no guy who had liked him. And here was the first one and it was Arthur freaking Pendragon. "So, um, now that's cleared up, do you think you would like to go out sometime?"

Merlin paused. One part of him was curious to see what would happen, and was so flattered at being asked. But Arthur had been such an ass. Sure, maybe he was a good looking ass, but the personality definitely left something to be desired.

"Maybe we could just hang out sometime? As friends?" Merlin suggested, and felt like a tool when he saw Arthur's devastated face, which he quickly tried to hide. "I'm not saying no! I just, I mean, how could you like me? You don't even know me. And I just think we should hang out a bit first, because maybe once you know me you won't want to go out with me. I'm not really anything special."

"Okay, we'll hang out, but I'm going to keep asking, just so you know," Arthur told him. "You might not think you're special, but you also think that stupid scarf you wear looks good and that I hated you, so obviously you have a very poor judge on these things."

"Wow, you realise that if you keep being an ass I will never say yes."

"Give yourself a few shared detentions and I'll win you over," Arthur said, so full of confidence that Merlin wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or punch him. "By the way, I wasn't lying about the suit. You make a good mobster, Emrys."

Three detentions later, and Arthur joining the improv team in attempt to stalk Merlin ("It's not stalking, Mer-lin, it's simply making you understand my awesomeness"), Merlin finally said yes to a date.


End file.
